Swimming for Weight Loss in La Jolla, CA

Weight loss can be a demanding, seemingly fruitless effort—a sometimes assured losing battle for which the most eager and steadfast exerciser is repaid with little apparent results. Furthermore, our injuries, current health status and other factors can cause us to put extra strain on our joints when we do exercise, leaving many to avoid physical activity altogether.

In contrast to traditional cardiovascular and endurance exercises, swimming provides a low-impact, total-body workout that is ideal for people who cannot withstand the strain on their joints from other exercises but still would like to lose weight and add muscle and definition to their bodies. And according to the American Heart Association, just 30 to 60 minutes of swimming five days a week can improve overall cardiovascular health, maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and help with weight loss initiatives.

How Swimming Works for Weight Loss

Other exercises often recommended for burning calories and shedding belly fat—running, bicycling, and the like—come with a price: merciless strain on your muscles and (most irreparably) on your joints. Swimming, by contrast, offers comparable health benefits to these exercises with less of the physical harm to your body. How does it work? When we immerse ourselves in the water, gravity is essentially neutralized and we become virtually weightless; it is in this state of weightlessness we draw upon the muscles in our upper and lower body to propel us forward in the water, the result of which is a total-body workout.

Maintaining your musculoskeletal integrity by putting less strain on joints

Lowering the risk of diabetes

Improving cholesterol levels

In addition to these many personal health benefits, swimming, unlike other low-impact exercises, is a great exercise that is low-stress and fun; in fact many people use swimming as an effective stress management technique. Relieving your joints, swimming also makes an ideal workout for those with arthritis and other chronic pain conditions.

Swimming for Weight Loss Tips

While swimming offers many health benefits, it should by no means be thought that losing weight with swimming happens overnight; calorie breakdown between recreational, moderate and intense swimming can differ significantly, and swimming with weight loss in mind will require strict adherence to your workout plan. Your weight loss goals should be discussed with your healthcare provider as well as other ways you may reach these goals like appropriate diet habits.

Despite offering many benefits, there are some factors to consider when committing to swimming for weight loss:

Appetite: Studies suggest, likely due to the lower body temperature the water causes as compared to land-based exercise, that swimming can affect your appetite such that you desire to eat a hearty meal to warm yourself up following exercise. Bearing this in mind, it is important to maintain healthy post-exercise dietary choices to support your weight loss goals.

Buoyancy: As gravity is suspended in the water and swimming involves floatation, it will take more of an exertion to move your body in the water—this is especially the case if you are carrying extra weight. This may also be an easy opportunity to resist effort. Keeping in mind that in order to be effective you need to work against the "drag" the water brings about, swimming can provide an exceptionally effective way to burn calories.

Technique: It is important to discuss proper swimming technique with your healthcare provider to ensure productive exercise. Improper technique can cause you to become tired and less likely of continuing the level of activity necessary for burning significant calories.

Approach the sport of swimming consciously; swimming has the potential to provide you with an intense full-body method to weight loss and to add longevity to your life through sustained wellness.